Scarcity of Naira notes resurfaces as CBN directs banks to pay only new notes

The Emefiele national fever has not completely gone, as signs from commercial banks show the over five months currency scarcity of bank notes of 2022 may resurface all over Nigeria any time soon.

They have not been cash in most ATM machines in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and some banks have fixed their withdrawal limit to N10,000, our correspondent in Akwa Ibom State informed our newsroom.

Union Bank in Ikot Edibon specifically could not pay beyond N10,000 to customers on Thursday 14th September 2023, our correspondent reports.

The limit of N10,000 for withdrawal may be maintained or lowered if the Central Bank of Nigeria – CBN does not reverse they order it gave to commercial banks.

Feedback for inquiries in Union Bank Ikot Edibon says there’s no much cash in the bank because, CBN has directed commercial banks to pay only new notes to their customers. “As it stands, we don’t have enough new notes, reasons we fixed the limit of withdrawal at N10,000. We are not the only bank suffering it, CBN does not have enough new notes to give to commercial banks, so I think the scarcity is everywhere” a Union Bank Staff said.

Further enquiry from the bank staff to know whether the CBN want to face out the old note, he said he can’t tell, but the order says we should only issue out new notes and not old ones.

The current scarcity is already pushing the masses to panic withdrawal amidst the harsh economy.

“There was no much new notes in circulation even in Godwin Emefiele era. So where would CBN now gets new notes to put in circulation. You guys should beg the Federal Government to stop adding sore into our injury of high cost of living”, Udeme Maurice a bank customer tells our correspondent in Uyo.

Either old or new notes, 9newsng.com has founds out that the CBN has no excuse lacking cash to put in circulation.

Recall that in 2022 the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele said CBN spent N96.5 billion to print and distributed new N200, N500 and N1000 Naira notes.

So where is the new Naira notes? Is the question in the lips of most Nigerians

In the same year 2022 CBN said it spent N281.07 billion to print new notes in 5 years.

According to CBN, N281.07 billion was spent to print notes between 2016 and 2020 and another N3.88 billion to destroy mutilated notes within the same period.

N33.37 billion was used to print new notes in 2016, the amount expended increased to N49.52 billion and N64.04 billion 2017 and 2018.

By the end of 2019, N75.52 billion was spent on printing new naira notes as the amount spent declined in 2020 to N58.07 billion.

Within the same five year period, the central bank spent N3.88 billion to destroy N4.197 trillion. N1.44 billion was spent in 2016 to dispose of mutilated naira notes with a value of N829.94 billion. The amount spent however dropped by almost half to N594.62 million spent in 2017 to destroy N977 billion.

The money spent in disposing N814.59 billion rose to N662.21 million in 2018 and declined slightly to N647.82 million that was used to dispose of N814.43 billion. In 2020, N538.59 million had been used to destroy N698.59 billion.

In 2022 CBN spent N96.5 billion to print and distributed new N200, N500 and N1000 Naira notes